Reading List/Resources

Reading List

The Black Panther Party published a weekly newspaper, and one recurring feature was their recommended book list. Education was of prime importance to them. Check out these books and resources to learn more about the Black Panther Party and the issues they valued and fought for.

BPP History (Books and Films)

  • Black Against Empire by Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin, Jr.
  • Power To The People by Stephen Shames and Bobby Seale
  • Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution by and Yohuru Williams
  • The Black Panthers, a photo essay by Stephen Shames
  • The Revolution Has Come by Robyn C. Spencer
  • Up Against the Wall by Curtis A. Austin
  • The Black Panthers Speak, ed. Philip Foner
  • The Assassination of Fred Hampton by Jeff Haas
  • Film: Vanguard of the Revolution
  • Film: Black Power Mixtape
  • Film: What We Want, What We Believe
  • Film: Merritt College, Home of the Black Panthers

BPP Member Memoirs

  • Panther Baby by Jamal Joseph
  • Assata by Assata Shakur
  • A Taste of Power by Elaine Brown
  • My People Are Rising by Aaron Dixon
  • Seize the Time by Bobby Seale
  • Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
  • To Die for the People by Huey P. Newton
  • The War Before by Safiya Bukhari
  • Solitary by Albert Woodfox

Black American History

  • Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
  • Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis
  • Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
  • The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
  • Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

Resources

Here are some online resources for more information about the Panthers, suitable for use in the classroom, for project research, or just to find out more!

Lessons and Links